GMS News 100 March 2017

Jim

Apr 12|13:57

Last Month’s Meeting

Twenty-four people were at the February meeting which saw Pauline Turner take up her position at the top table for the first time.

Billed to give a talk on the families who lived in the Timeball Tower, Jim Rees did much more than that, taking in the development of Deal as a port from its origins as a tiny village to the final demise of the port in the late 19th century.

Along the way he described the telegraph signalling station outside the gates of the Naval Victualling yard which later was replaced by the Semaphore tower which later morphed into the Timeball Tower. He managed to include the landing of Anne of Cleves and the campaign against smuggling in the early 19th century.

March Meeting

For some years now local archaeologist Vince Burrows has led the excavation of an Anglo-Saxon cemetery and a Bronze Age barrow at Wolverton in the Alkham Valley and has made some interesting discoveries. At our next meeting on Thursday, 16th March Vince Burrows will tell us about some of the discoveries he and his team have made. His previous talks have always been interesting, and this promises to be the same. We meet at the Village Hall at 7.30 pm.

A Message from our President

I would like to thank Jim for his presentation, at the last meeting.

He took over at short notice and gave us an excellent insight into the Trustees of the Time Ball Tower.

I am so pleased to hear he is recovering from his unexpected spell in hospital.

One Hundred!

This is the one hundredth issue of the Notes (formerly Gazette), so to mark the occasion I am also sending you the very first issue.

The Crioll/Kiriels

The de Criols were prominent men in Kent for several centuries. On the Battle Abbey Roll which lists the Norman Knights who came in 1066 is one Escriols who is considered to be the ancestor of the de Criols. However the first to appear in the records is John de Criol who gave the church at Sarre to Leeds Priory ion 1194. It is likely that he also held the manors of Walmer and East Mongeham. His son, Bertram, was known as the Great Lord of Kent. from his large possessions in the county. A significant figure in the court of Henry III he was Sheriff of Kent and Constable of Dover Castle. He was granted a charter in 1251 to hold a fair at ‘Monigeham’ and ‘Shoueldon’.

His son, Nicholas married Joan, the daughter of William de Auberville, thus adding Westenhanger and Walmer to his possessions. The castle at Westenhanger became his family seat, and the fortified manor house at Walmer Court was also in his possession. The drawing shows what the manor house must have looked like.

Their son, also Nicholas, inherited the estate. His son, John, left In his will 200 marks to each of Westenhanger and Walmer churches. He also left money to churches in Stockbury, Eynesford, Northbourne, Mongeham, Deal, Sholden, Ripple, Ringwold, “Lymen” and Sellinge. It can be assumed that all of these were manors in his possession.

At each generation they were close to the king. The last of that name, Thomas, was beheaded during the Wars of the Roses.